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Shploiks! It's 2010...
I'm not the most talkative guy... but I do have things to say once in a while! I wanted to create a page where I can just ramble or vent or show off a project I'm working on. Some of the pages on this site are static and will never change in any significant way. A page or two might disappear. But I want a page where I can go just to share something on the spur of the moment (and hopefully someone will want to read it). Eventually, I'd love to have YOU respond but I don't know how to do that yet... I'll figure it out though! If you'd like to comment just shoot me an email, I'd be happy to post your comments here!
I will keep the most current comment on top of the page to make it easier for people to keep up to date if they choose. I'll just start writing and see where I wander...
6/20/10
Father's Day! I miss my Dad... I miss my sons who are with their Mother for Summer vacation. I spent the early part of the day doing chores... laundry, dishes, cutting the grass. To me, it feels good to get things accomplished – some are not that enjoyable, but it feels good to get them out of the way and they need to be done! It takes about an hour and a half to cut my lawn (it's pretty big) and I spent most of it talking to God... just rambling about stuff, thanking him for things and praying for other things or other people. I love living out in the country! I noticed that the family of Eastern Kingbirds nesting in my woodshed had left! Just yesterday I took this pic of the four young ones in their nest - today, their gone!
After lunch, I spent some time with my trees. Over the past year or so, I've gotten into bonsai and I have several trees that I hope will one day be bonsai! I've been wanting a Japanese Maple and found one last weekend on sale– I grabbed it and it seems to be doing well. Today, I planted it in the ground in a good spot so it can grow a thicker trunk. In a year or two I can start bonsai-ing it!
I also have a small area I call the “Tree Farm” where I have other future bonsai trees planted. A couple Honey Locusts grown from seed, a Blue Spruce I got at a nursery this Spring, a few small Maples that were growing by my Mom's house and a cutting I took from a Red Cedar this Spring. I did some weeding and thinking about what I wanted to do with the trees as they grow... just enjoying a perfect day!
Later, when I felt like I had done enough stuff, I saw my lawn chair out by the fire pit and thought I'd make some coffee and sit for awhile in the shade. I took my camera too – never know when you might see something cool! I must have sat there for an hour and a half, listening to all the different birds, watching their activities. Two pairs of Wrens are nesting in the yard and they have a beautiful song! Hummingbirds racing around the yard like tiny fighter planes! Waaaay up in the sky, a pair of Bald Eagles wheeling around... I hoped they would come lower for my camera, but they didn't!
The weather today was perfect! Everything green, the dappled sunlight through the trees.I watched a tiny Hummingbird with a wingspan of about three inches and a majestic Eagle with a wingspan of about six feet... as I sat there alone, I was amazed (again) at the beauty of Gods creation and couldn't help but feel blessed and loved by my Father in Heaven and I didn't feel alone anymore!
4/12/10
The finished piece! Originally, I decided on black for the legs but after looking at many colors I chose something called "Black as night". To be honest, it looked more black in the store! It's almost a dark blue-green. I like it though, and I'm pretty happy with the way the project turned out. Hmm... what to build next?
4/11/10
Thank the Lord for an absolutely gorgeous day! 66 degrees, full sun and light breeze... perfect! I'm happy to say that my plant stand is finished. I plan to assemble it tomorrow and take some pics. I think it turned out good! Had to do a lot of sanding and filling. A coat of primer and three coats of paint on the shelves and legs, three coats of polyurethane on the oak. I already have 16 various types of tree cuttings growing, waiting to bathe in sunlight on my stand. My hope is that some of these will be Bonsai... if I don't kill 'em first!
3/27/10
Well it was a wee bit chilly outside today... nevertheless, I was able to make good progress on the plant stand. The wider jigsaw blade did the trick - nice square cuts on the legs. All the parts are made now, and today I layed everything out in order to assemble the stand. Due to the shape of the legs I had to assemble it in order to mark the bottoms of the legs where I have to cut them off. After cutting the legs I re-assembled it to see how it looked, see if it wobbled and to take a couple pics. It was actually nice and stable. Now I'll disassemble it and do LOTS of sanding, more sanding and then some paint and finish. I have an interesting color combination in mind that I think will look natural and very nice. OK, here's where I'm at now - you can see the Asian look it has.
3/21/10
Spring is here! Woohooooo!! I've been dying to get outside and enjoy the weather, build something, cut firewood... anything! Over the Winter I killed a Bonsai tree and in the process of doing that, I did a lot of reading on the subject and it's really very interesting. This Spring I plan to get a bunch of cuttings from trees around here and start my own Bonsai! This also gives me an excuse to build something...
It seems that my house doesn't have a lot of window space to grow plants in. So, I designed a plant stand to place in the front window so I can start some trees! I need something long and narrow, and it'd be nice if it looked good too! Bonsai comes from China and Japan so my stand should have a kind of Asian look to it, right? I did some quick sketches and came up with a plan...
I get some scrap wood from work, mostly pine. Sometimes I'm fortunate to get some oak! I usually build things I need, so I start with some sketches of the piece noting sizes and features I need, then I figure out how to make it, using as much of the wood I have as possible and then buying what I don't have. Finding ways to use the various sizes of wood I have forces me get creative!
Another thing that makes me get creative is the fact that I have old, cheap tools that make it very hard to achieve any kind of accuracy! Getting good miters for a simple picture frame is relly tough with my tools! So, for many of my projects, paint is the finish of choice. It covers the wood filler! Needless to say this project is pretty likely to get painted...
I'm using pine for the whole project except for the slats filling in the center of the shelves. I have some small pieces of oak that will be perfect for these. For the legs I'll need to buy a few 2x6's. All of the pine will probably be painted and the oak will simply be finished with polyurithane. I was so anxious to get out to the garage and build something that I forgot to take pictures along the way... so here's where I'm at.
The frames for the two shelves are assembled...
...and I've made the slats for the center.
The curved legs will be a challenge because I don't have
a band saw... I tried my jigsaw but the thin blade has too much flex in it and the cut tends to "lean" in and out. I can't afford to buy a band saw so...
I got a wider blade for the jigsaw! I'll try that soon. If that doesn't work... I'll have to get creative again!
3/20/10
It's so sad... She was only in her late twenties. Just last week she kept me company out in the garage as I worked on my projects. One day she sang to me, the next she entered silently into eternity... Dang! My "old school" Vector Research VR-5000 receiver, bought new back in the 80's is gone... I tried to fix the old girl but I'm no electronics wiz. Every time she powered up I could hear the relay for the speakers click - now it don't click! I manually closed the contacts and only got sound out of the right side. Who knows what else might be wrong... I don't know what else to do. Can't find parts for these any more and to buy another old receiver like this can be spendy (and who knows how long it'll last). Sorry to see her go... but I can't say I won't enjoy gettin' a new one!
2/12/10
Well a whole year has passed since I last wrote in here! That's terrible! I am kind of ashamed of myself... Normally, I am on a voluntary lay-off from work this time of year, and that's when I like to do this website stuff. That didn't happen this year. It's been unusually busy at work - 10 or more hours a day through December - ouch! Since Christmas, I've been working reduced hours, but I've just been busy doing other things. 'Bout time I got to work on this site!
Thanksgiving and Christmas were good. Different without Dad, but nice just the same. I can still hear Dad grumbling about the football game! When we opened gifts, Pops would hold the big bag and we'd throw the wrapping paper across the room... Our family Christmas picture was missing good ole Pops... My brother cooked the Thanksgiving turkey on the grill and well... he must have been paying attention all those years because I thought it was as good as Dad's Turkey!
2/26/09
Well, March is almost here. It's back to work Monday! It's been wonderful to stay home during the worst of the Winter. I am the type that thinks about all the stuff I didn't get done over the last two months – at least at first! Then I consider the things I did get done and I'm grateful for the time I had to do them. Some were planned and some just came up. I guess the rest will have to go on my "to do" list!
2/2/09
Well, things are getting easier. I still think about Dad a lot. Earlier last month I scanned all of my parents old photo slides into the computer and found myself tearing up frequently. It's sad that we and our loved ones have to get old and sick. But that's the mess we've gotten ourselves into. I've been pretty emotional lately, but I still have the joy of the Lord in my heart!
Work is slow this time of year and it's even slower this year! I am laid off for all of January and February. A little scary financially but I love to have all this time to do whatever I want. I wish I could retire! Aside from the slide project, I'm working on a strange computer desk, some computer wallpapers and a TON of household stuff. I also need to do more work on this web site!
1/11/09
Well... for me, I'm really glad 2008 is over – it didn't end so well... I spent a very nice Christmas with my family. Unfortunately, it was to be the last one spent with my Dad. Back in September we found out that Dad had a growth in his lung. He'd been a smoker for probably 50 years or more. Several years ago Dad just quit smoking – cold turkey! I was really proud of him for that. I can't imagine how hard it was for him. At Thanksgiving, he was pretty good. Not very active but he was himself, you know? By Christmas time he needed a walker to get around and his breathing was very shallow. I remember telling my two son's to make sure they thanked Pops and told him that they loved him because they might not see him again.
Heading home after Christmas, my transmission burned out on my old Ford Explorer. Used to be that the first thing I would think was “Why me?” Instead, I thought, “God has gotten me through 46 years of troubles, He'll get me through this too!” After a night in a hotel, my brother Jeff picked me up and drove me back to my parents house. My other brother Mark, was kind enough to spend a few hours in the pouring rain, driving me around to look for a car! We got soaked, but I ended up with a car. I was able to get home the next day and to work the following morning.
On New Years Day, I got up, grabbed a cup of coffee and started checking my emails when the phone rang. It was my sister Lori, calling to tell me that Dad passed away the night before... that was pretty rough. You know it's going to happen but it's still a shock.
Anyway, the funeral was nice. Sad. Lots of people I hadn't seen for years were there. Now, we just have to heal and go on with life. I love you Pops, and I'll miss you.
©Copyright 2009-2010, Tom Mroczek
